1. United States
2. Texas
3. Letter

I am writing not merely with concern — but with alarm — about the creeping authoritarian surveillance state that is being erected around us by the unregulated deployment of Automated License Plate Readers (ALPRs). The unchecked proliferation of these systems poses a dire threat to the fundamental freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution and to every American’s right to go about their daily life without ubiquitous digital monitoring. This is not a distant theoretical worry — it is happening right now in communities across the country: 1. Warrantless, Dragnet Surveillance of Everyday Movement Civil liberties organizations are currently suing the San José Police Department on the grounds that their use of ALPRs to capture and search the travel records of millions of drivers without obtaining warrants is unconstitutional and violates privacy rights under the California Constitution. These cameras gather location data on innocent people’s movements every day — from home to work, to places of worship or medical appointments — and compile them into searchable databases without individualized suspicion. 2. A Looming Mass Surveillance Infrastructure Law enforcement agencies are linking ALPR data systems across jurisdictions so that one city’s scans can be consulted by officers hundreds of miles away. This effectively creates a nationwide surveillance grid capable of tracing movements across state lines, without meaningful oversight, judicial approval, or public transparency. 3. Real World Abuse and Data Sharing Risks Public debates in jurisdictions like San Diego reveal that even when local officials claim to restrict access to ALPR data, breaches and unauthorized sharing with other agencies — including federal enforcement — have already occurred. The concern isn’t hypothetical, it’s reality. 4. Erosion of Freedom Under the Guise of Public Safety Surveillance dragnets like these don’t just collect data — they chill speech, deter lawful protest, stifle dissent, and transform every citizen into a tracked subject, even when they have done nothing wrong. When law enforcement can reconstruct your movements without a warrant, we cross the line from lawful policing into perpetual monitoring. That is the surveillance state. Make no mistake — this is not about “crime fighting” as much as bureaucratic expansion of intrusive monitoring under the radar of public scrutiny. Some cities and states are trying to legislate limits and privacy protections on these systems, but the federal government has been slow to act and many jurisdictions continue to operate ALPR networks without basic civil liberties safeguards. This is constitutional erosion by stealth, and it must be stopped before it becomes irreversible. I demand that you support and champion legislation that: - Requires a judicial warrant based on probable cause before any law enforcement agency can retain, access, or search ALPR data. - Limits data retention periods to the shortest possible window consistent with privacy rights, with automatic deletion unless a judge orders continuation. - Bans mass sharing of ALPR data with federal immigration enforcement or any unrelated agency without strict legal oversight. - Mandates full transparency and public reporting on ALPR usage, access logs, and data sharing agreements. - Imposes civil liberties protections that ensure this technology cannot be co-opted into a system of widespread monitoring of everyday Americans. Anything less is a betrayal of the Fourth Amendment, of liberty itself, and of your oath to defend the constitutional rights of the people you serve. The surveillance we tolerate today will become the surveillance that defines us tomorrow. I expect your immediate and unequivocal commitment to rein in these unconstitutional practices.